Travel Health Insurance

What is Travel Health Insurance?

Travel health insurance is a travel insurance policy that is helpful when a medical emergency can occur at any point during a trip abroad. It is a no-brainer that the cost of healthcare abroad is much more than that in India. If the insured gets hospitalised abroad for something as common as viral fever, it can cause a big dent in the trip budget.

In short, a travel health insurance policy takes care of the insured’s medical expenses ensuring a stress-free travel. Regardless of age and purpose of travelling, you can buy the best travel medical insurance in India for the trip.

Why Buy a Travel Health Insurance Plan?

Travel medical insurance is essential for all kinds of travellers, no matter their trip duration or destination. Travel health insurance is ideal for people seeking overseas medical coverage only. An overseas traveller should buy a travel health insurance policy only coverage for travel-related emergencies like trip delay, baggage insurance, missed connection flight, etc. are not their priority. It also makes sense if they are already covered for travel and flight-related adversities, then they can buy a travel health insurance policy online for their overseas trip.

Key Features of Travel Health Insurance in India

Following are some of the key benefits of buying an international health insurance policy:

• Provides cashless hospitalization facility
• Available for occasional travellers and frequent flyers
• Offers 24x7 medical assistance
• Mostly offers global coverage
• Covers individual as well as families
• No pre-policy medical check-up for up to 70 years as per the plan

Travel Health Insurance Coverage

A travel medical insurance policy or medical travel insurance financially protects overseas travellers against the following adversities:

• Medical Illness Treatment
  Any emergency medical expenses that the insured traveller may incur on the treatment of a sudden illness during the trip will be covered under the travel medical insurance policy. Some insurers may also cover pre and post hospitalization expenses up to a fixed number of days.
• Personal Accident
  If the insured meets with an accident on the trip, this medical travel insurance policy will bear the treatment expenses. It will also provide compensation in case the insured suffers from any partial or permanent disability due to the accidental injury.
• Emergency Medical Evacuation
  A medical travel insurance policy will come to the rescue of the insured traveller in case they need to be evacuated urgently to the nearest medical help. It will cover the transportation cost involved, i.e. ambulance or air-ambulance charges depending on the coverage.
• Emergency Dental Treatment
  If the insured traveller takes any treatment for emergency dental pain relief during the trip abroad, then it will be covered by the medical travel insurance policy.
• Delay/ Loss of Check-in Baggage
  If the check-in baggage of the insured is delayed or misplaced by the scheduled airline, the travel insurance provider will reimburse the expenses incurred and provide compensation for the losses incurred.

Additional Coverage of Travel Health Insurance

A handful of travel insurance companies in India also offer other kinds of coverage under travel medical insurance. While some insurers may offer these covers under basic coverage, other travel insurance companies may provide these covers on the payment of an additional premium amount. Take a look at some of the additional covers available under an international health insurance policy:

• Pre-Existing Diseases Cover
  In case the insured traveller takes medical treatment for any pre-existing diseases or medical conditions, the treatment expenses will be covered by the travel insurance provider under this cover.
• Flight Delays
  If the scheduled flight of the insured traveller gets delayed for more than a specified number of hours, then the insurer will compensate him/her for any losses incurred under the travel health insurance policy.
• Personal Liability
  In case a legal liability is imposed on the insured traveller during their trip for causing injuries or damages to a third party, this cover will enable the insurance company to pay compensation on behalf of the insured.

Travel Health Insurance Companies in India

Various public and private insurance companies are rolling out competitive travel health insurance plans with a range of attractive covers. Take a look at some of the leading insurance companies that offer travel health insurance plans in India:

Exclusions of Travel Health Insurance Policy

Most travel medical insurance policies do not cover the following events or situations:

• Travelling Against Medical Advice - If the insured is travelling against the doctor’s advice, then the travel insurance company will not pay for any medical expenses incurred during the trip.
• Pre-existing Diseases - Most travel insurance companies do not provide coverage for any pre-existing medical condition or illness under travel health insurance plans unless purchased as an add-on cover for PED coverage.
• Consumption of Intoxicants - Any medical expenses incurred on the treatment of an illness or injury arising due to the consumption of intoxicants, such as alcohol and drugs, will not be covered.
• War or Civil Unrest - Any injury or illness of the insured traveller resulting due to events, such as war, an act of war, protest, strike, terrorism, etc., will not be covered under travel medical insurance policy.
• Cosmetic Treatment - No medical expenses incurred on cosmetic treatment and the insurance provider will cover surgery.
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV AIDS - If the insured traveller receives treatment for any sexually transmitted diseases or HIV AIDS while travelling, the expenses incurred will be excluded under this policy.
• Self-inflicted Injury - In case the insured traveller takes medical treatment for any self-inflicted injuries, such as suicide or attempt to suicide, it will not be covered by the travel health insurance policy.
• Alternative Treatment - If the insured traveller receives treatment through Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Siddha and Unani during the trip, then the insurance provider will not cover the expenses incurred.
• Adventure Sports - Most insurance companies do not cover any expenses incurred on the treatment of any injury or illness arising due to participation in adventure sports activities, such as rafting and skiing, during the trip.
• Mental Disorders - If the insured travellers take treatment for any medical disorders during the trip, then the medical expenses incurred will not be covered under the travel medical insurance policy.

Benefits of Travel Health Insurance Policy

Travelling is full of uncertainties; with the change in climate and exertion involved, the chances of a traveller getting ill increases leaps and bounds. Travel health insurance benefits travellers who unexpectedly fall sick or meet with an accident during their trip. Here are some of the ways through which a travel medical insurance policy can benefit a traveller:

• Emergency Medical Expenses
  If the insured traveller gets ill or meet with an accident and require hospitalization, travel health insurance policy will cover all the expenses incurred on the treatment. Most international health insurance plans cover pre and post hospitalization expenses as well as the ambulance charges. Moreover, travel medical insurance provides compensation if the insured suffers from temporary or permanent disability.
• Medical Assistance at Remote Areas
  This type of travel medical insurance can turn out to be quite useful if the insured is travelling to a remote area with poor healthcare services. The insurance provider will evacuate the traveller to the nearest hospital in case they require emergency medical assistance.
• Coverage for Each Traveller
  No matter where a traveller is going and for what purpose, a travel health insurance policy will provide coverage to all kinds of travellers. From individuals to families and senior citizens to students, every traveller can opt for protection under this medical travel insurance policy. Even people who travel frequently to different places abroad are protected under travel medical insurance policy.
• Travel Stress-Free
  A trip can become quite stressful if someone gets ill or injured in an accident. However, people with travel medical insurance can travel without a worry as they are covered for any unforeseen medical emergency under the policy.

How to Buy Travel Health Insurance?

A travel health insurance policy can be purchased both online and offline. People who want to buy travel insurance offline can visit the nearest branch of the insurance company or contact one of its agents. People who want to buy travel health insurance online can follow the steps given below:

• Visit the official website of Policybazaar Insurance Broker Private Limited
• Go to the option of buying travel insurance
• Fill in the online application form with the required details such as travel dates, destination, email id, etc.
• Select the international health insurance plan to buy
• Pay the premium amount online
• The traveller will receive a soft copy of the policy document in the email.

Prospective travellers can also call the toll-free number of policybazaar.com on 1800-208-8787 to buy the policy. In case of any confusion, they can also write to care@policybazaar.com.

Claim Procedure for Travel Health Insurance

The claim procedure under the best travel health insurance policy is similar to that of a regular travel insurance policy. Follow the steps given below to register a claim under a travel medical health insurance policy:

• Inform the insurance company or the third party assistance (TPA) provider about the hospitalization abroad through phone or email
• Arrange documents that need to be submitted in support of the claim, including the claim form
• Submit all the documents to the TPA or the insurance provider via post, email or fax
• The claims team will verify the claim and make the payment

Note: Cashless claims can only be made if the insured is hospitalized at one of the network hospitals of the insurance company. In case of cashless claims, the insurer will settle the bill directly with the network hospital after the treatment is over.

Compare Best Travel Health Insurance Plans

It can get very difficult to select the best travel health insurance plan as there are lots of options available in the market. Therefore, the best way to find the most suitable travel medical insurance is by comparing various plans offered by different insurance companies.

This will help the insured to find an ideal plan for his/her trip, which will provide the best coverage at an economical rate. Anyone can compare different travel health insurance policies online at policybazaar.com.